Armour Collection B11B612 USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning Interceptor - Richard O. Loehnert, "California Cutie", 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, RAF Northamptonshire, England, July 1944 (1:48 Scale)"Why should we have a navy at all? There are no enemies for it to fight except apparently the Army Air Force."- General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the US 8th Army Air Force, after WWII

It was fast, heavily armed and extremely versatile. And many believe the Lockheed P-38 Lightning to be the finest American fighter of WWII. Its low-drag, aerodynamic shape and heavy weight enabled this twin-engine, twin-boomed aircraft to accelerate to high speeds faster than any previous warplane, making it a potent fighter and a superb fighter-bomber. Popular among fighter pilots, P-38s carried out the intercept mission that downed Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the Mediterranean, Luftwaffe pilots showed respect for the Lightning by calling it "der gabelschwanz teufel" (the forked-tail devil). The ultimate P-38 was flown by Dick Bong and Tommy McGuire, who were among the most successful American fighter pilots in history.

Pictured here is an extraordinary 1:48 scale diecast replica of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning that was flown by Richard O. Loehnert of the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, then deployed to Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire in July 1944. Sold Out!

Historical Account: "Fork Tailed Devil" - Assigned to the 55th FS from November 1943 to November 1944, Dick Loehnert flew 70 missions and 300 hours during his combat tour. A fair number of these flights wer eperformed at the controls of this long-lived P-38, which bore one of the largest mission tallies ever seen on a USAAF fighter in the ETO. The P-38 completed 56 escort missions (top hat and cane), 16 top cover missions (umbrella), and 11 sweeps (broom), while the six locomotives beneath the canopy were for strafing credits and the two swastikas denoted two Bf 109s shot down by Loenhert on July 7th, 1944.